Tow Bar for the Tiguan

[IsDon]

+1

I have genuine VW tow bar and leave the ball and tongue in place permanently and reverse sensors don’t beep or “see” the ball & tongue

Thanks mate.

Yep, it’s looking more and more like the issue is the Hayman Reece bar, and possibly a lack of towing module and coding. A combination of which has the sensors confused.

[dmn]

Thanks dmn.

If you have an older VCDS cable you might find you wouldn’t be able to program the Tig. I found my older cable wouldn’t even recognise some of the modules. I traded my old cable in for a new VCDS HEX/NET which now works with everything. As well as my comparatively antiquated A6. The Tig is my wife’s. I’m only allowed to tinker with it occasionally.

I was thinking a little more in this towball sensor issue. I would not be at all surprised if the sensors not detecting the tow ball is actually a function of programming. It’s entirely possible that once the car is correctly coded it still sees (actually more correctly hears as its an ultrasonic sensor) the towball but is programmed to ignore that particular signature. That would explain why an uncoded Hayman Reece is visible but a VW ball isn’t.

I’m continually amazed how particular the Germans are about some of these things. The more I discover the more I have to dip my lid to their ingenuity. In my car, once a trailer is plugged in, the little overall picture of the car in the settings page on the MMI even has a little trailer attached. That just one example. How it logs and then deletes fault codes it considers spurious is another work of genius. That’s why the sensors picking up the tow ball didn’t make sense. The Germans would never accept such a design flaw.

Thanks IsDon - you are correct re the older VCDS cable, it can see some things but not all so time for a trade-up. I managed to code traffic alerts/auto high beam but lucked out with the others as the modules cannot be seen...not surprising really. I had re code the auto high beam as the trip to the dealer obviously removed those settings but the traffic alert still works.
As I also have B8 S4 Avant/2015 A3 I am hoping that the new VCDS HEX/NET will make no difference to the older vehicles.

Yes, you have got to love the ingenuity of the Germans...I guess that's why I have 3 of their cars

[IsDon]

Thanks IsDon - you are correct re the older VCDS cable, it can see some things but not all so time for a trade-up. I managed to code traffic alerts/auto high beam but lucked out with the others as the modules cannot be seen...not surprising really. I had re code the auto high beam as the trip to the dealer obviously removed those settings but the traffic alert still works.
As I also have B8 S4 Avant/2015 A3 I am hoping that the new VCDS HEX/NET will make no difference to the older vehicles.

Yes, you have got to love the ingenuity of the Germans...I guess that's why I have 3 of their cars

No troubles with the new cable on older cars. Only issue is it’s limited to 10 VINs unless you pay for the professional licence which, I think, is $100 more. No worries if you only tinker with your own cars, but I help a lot of guys on this forum, and OzAudi, with programming on their cars so the VINs add up. I’m almost out of licences on the new cable.

[dmn]

No troubles with the new cable on older cars. Only issue is it’s limited to 10 VINs unless you pay for the professional licence which, I think, is $100 more. No worries if you only tinker with your own cars, but I help a lot of guys on this forum, and OzAudi, with programming on their cars so the VINs add up. I’m almost out of licences on the new cable.

Good to know re the 10 VINs...can you purchase the Professional licence and apply the digital licence to the new VCDS NEX/NET or do you need to send the cable back to Ross Tech and wait for them to send another?

[IsDon]

Good to know re the 10 VINs...can you purchase the Professional licence and apply the digital licence to the new VCDS NEX/NET or do you need to send the cable back to Ross Tech and wait for them to send another?

You can just add the licence later and it will unlock the unlimited VINs professional licence. No need to send the cable back it’s online and instantaneous.

If you think you may need the professional licence it is cheaper to get it up front rather than unlock it later. They will also give you a trade in for you old cable. All the details are on the website.

[dmn]

You can just add the licence later and it will unlock the unlimited VINs professional licence. No need to send the cable back it’s online and instantaneous.

If you think you may need the professional licence it is cheaper to get it up front rather than unlock it later. They will also give you a trade in for you old cable. All the details are on the website.

Many thanks

[jdstephens]

I'm with IsDon, sounds like poor design to me. Tiguan R-line here...I spent 12 months trying to decide whether to grab the OEM or the Genuine Australian VW towbar which is made by Best Bars, ended up going with the Gen VW bar so was sourced via a colleague at trade price which was around $1150 and ended up fitting it myself which took around 4 hours. There are two components, the towbar kit and the electrical installation kit, both with full instructions. The electrical installation also includes the module and all you have to do is plug in 2 connectors behind the LHS rear trim, connect one 2-pin block under the dash and all done...it's actually quite easy + nothing like the tow bar installation on the Mark 1 tigs. The only issue you will have, with the electrical installation kit there are 3 codes that need to be individually programmed into the vehicle and even though I have the VCDS cable (not the latest version) my chances of being successful would be fairly remote as there are so many areas that need to be programmed to make my Tig 'trailer aware' so I just rang up the dealer that I purchased the car from, took it down and they did it for me, wait for this...for free!

As an FYI, I leave the tongue/ball on and have no issues when reversing. Hope that helps someone

do you have a link to where I can buy the genuine Australian vw tow bar?

[iDiesel]

Thanks mate.

Yep, it’s looking more and more like the issue is the Hayman Reece bar, and possibly a lack of towing module and coding. A combination of which has the sensors confused.

Finally got to using my towbar for the bike rack over the Xmas holidays on a road trip to Brisbane.
Soon as we started the car to head off early in the morning, the car had a couple warning lightd
s on the dash. The first message was something about some lights not working properly, and as the Mrs was driving up the M1 from Sydney, I looked up the warning lights.
I put it down to the fact that I had plugged in my bike rack as it has combined number plate light and rear light with a secondary brake light integrated. Also noticed BSM was also disabled and confirmed in the manual. So when we got to the end of the M1 at Newcastle, I decided to pull over and unplug the bike rack from the tow socket. All warnings lights dis appeared off the dash and bsm back working, but when reversing, it has constant beeping and RTA auto brakes abruptly. Was able to work ou5 5hta you can s
disable it via onscreen menu on the discover pro screen.
In Brissy, I hooked up the bike rack to a Prado and all lights etc worked as designed, so I have deduced that the wiring or module is either not wired correctly or faulty as rear lights work thought the tow bar plug, but not the brake lights...

Now for another trip back to the dealer for another fix...

[IsDon]

Tow Bar for the Tiguan

Finally got to using my towbar for the bike rack over the Xmas holidays on a road trip to Brisbane.
Soon as we started the car to head off early in the morning, the car had a couple warning lightd
s on the dash. The first message was something about some lights not working properly, and as the Mrs was driving up the M1 from Sydney, I looked up the warning lights.
I put it down to the fact that I had plugged in my bike rack as it has combined number plate light and rear light with a secondary brake light integrated. Also noticed BSM was also disabled and confirmed in the manual. So when we got to the end of the M1 at Newcastle, I decided to pull over and unplug the bike rack from the tow socket. All warnings lights dis appeared off the dash and bsm back working, but when reversing, it has constant beeping and RTA auto brakes abruptly. Was able to work ou5 5hta you can s
disable it via onscreen menu on the discover pro screen.
In Brissy, I hooked up the bike rack to a Prado and all lights etc worked as designed, so I have deduced that the wiring or module is either not wired correctly or faulty as rear lights work thought the tow bar plug, but not the brake lights...

Now for another trip back to the dealer for another fix...

It could still be a coding issue. I’d go down that path before blaming the towing module. It could be the module, but I’d check the coding first.

In any case, it’s still under warranty. I’d try it with a trailer or something other than your bike rack too see if you get the same symptoms.

The combined number plate and rear light is not an issue. What may be an issue though, depending on your install, is a uniquely Australian problem. Europe have separate wiring for the left tail light and the right tail light. In Australia we only have one wire. When you switch your lights on, the module will see the unwired side as an open circuit and give you a warning that you lights have failed on that side. The way to fix that is to bridge the two tail light wires in the car side of the plug.

[dmn]

do you have a link to where I can buy the genuine Australian vw tow bar?

Sorry, no link, just waltzed into the VW dealer with my VIN and the correct bar with the wiring module was purchased. It was the latest bar with the 200kg sticker, its all boxed up and ready to go - hth

[Guest001]

Sorry, no link, just waltzed into the VW dealer with my VIN and the correct bar with the wiring module was purchased. It was the latest bar with the 200kg sticker, its all boxed up and ready to go - hth

As said above just because the bar fits doesnt mean it increases the limit of the vehicle. As per my remarks on early Toyotas.

As far as been able to find out on here the towball limit is 100kg for a 2017 unless its different in your manual or specs

[Ozsko]

As said above just because the bar fits doesnt mean it increases the limit of the vehicle. As per my remarks on early Toyotas.

As far as been able to find out on here the towball limit is 100kg for a 2017 unless its different in your manual or specs

That doesn't make sense, I can put a later manual in the glovebox to show Trevor Plod.

[Guest001]

That doesn't make sense, I can put a later manual in the glovebox to show Trevor Plod.

You can do what you like but probably wont make it legal if limit for car is less than what towbar says.

Makers change limits on new models but often dont make it retrospective and so while a 2018 rated bar may fit a 2017 vehicle it doesnt change the original limits for the vehicle.

EG the 95 Landcruisers were only rated to 2500kg The 96 model was uprated to 3500kg and the new bar fitted the old model. Toyota refused to uprate the older one. Same thing probably applies here if the 2017 is ,lmited to 100kg ball weight thats what it is regardless of what the towbar says.. ASK VW what the story is

[Ozsko]

I can't find anywhere that VW has said that the older vehicles when fitted with the new tow bar do not comply so by omission they are sanctioning the change. Can you show me where VW have put a rider on the older vehicles when it is fitted with a new tow bar? BTW I am playing the devils advocate here and nothing more. Has anyone seen a tech bulletin saying to dealers that owners must be warned of the limits of different vehicles when fitted with the 200kg tow bar? If not then VW are condoning the new weight limit on older vehicles and Toyotas are not VW's.

[jdstephens]

Sorry, no link, just waltzed into the VW dealer with my VIN and the correct bar with the wiring module was purchased. It was the latest bar with the 200kg sticker, its all boxed up and ready to go - hth

Ok thanks. Do you know if the bumper on the Tiguan R-Line needs to be modified (cut) for this bumper to fit?
i ask because I have a Wolfsburg to be deleivered first week of feb and the first thing I will do is put a tow bar on.